Longmeadow Board of Health ruling on dogs at Starbucks delayed due to missing member

Associated PressIn this July 20, 2009 file photo, a Starbucks customer drinks a beverage outside Starbucks, in Beverly, Mass. Starbucks Corp. is expected to release a quarterly earnings report at the close of the market Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

LONGMEADOW – The Board of Health was unwilling to take a vote on whether to allow dogs in the outdoor eating area of Starbucks saying there was a member missing.

Although the board had a quorum during its Monday night meeting including Chairman Robert Rappaport, members Barry Izenstein, Maripat Toye and Robert Baevsky Toye expressed her desire to have all of the members present before issuing a final decision. Member Richard Steingart was absent.

The issue of dogs at Starbucks has been on-going for several months since a sign was posted saying dogs would no longer be allowed because of a state regulation which allows only service animals at restaurants.

Board of Health Director Beverly Hirschhorn said the state regulation has always been in place but not often enforced.

More than 15 residents attended the meeting and expressed anger and disappointment that the board could not come to a decision.

Former selectman Gerald Nolet who has served on many town boards and committees and supports the variance said he did not see why the board could not come to a decision with out one board member.

Toye said in the past the board has been criticized for voting without all its members, including the initial vote regarding the ordinance in question.

“We have been criticized for voting without having the full board present and we don’t want to make that mistake again,” she said.

Rappaport said the board does not want to continue delaying the issue and will make a decision soon.

During the meeting a representative of Starbucks expressed concerns about the negative impact the ordinance has had on its sales.

“The enforcement of the food code has resulted in a loss of customers and a loss of sales,” said Michael Clark, an employee and spokesperson for the establishment located on Bliss Road in the Longmeadow Shops. “There has been a loss of an estimated 20-30 customers per day during peak summer hours which amounts to $1000 week or $12,000 this summer.”

Information regarding the financial loss could not be verified.

The company is requesting a variance that would allow dogs on leashes and under the control of their owners to sit outside in the exterior eating areas of the business. Clark said the dogs would not be allowed on the tables or chairs.

Clark said the regulation has forced many Starbucks customers to go to East Longmeadow or Springfield locations where dogs are allowed.

Susan Altman, of Longmeadow, who initially started a petition to allow dogs at the establishment said she has had support from hundreds of residents with more than 160 signing her petition.

“The ordinance has not been enforced for 15 years and the citizens of Longmeadow and their dogs have been able to meet at the Starbucks patio and socialize,” she said.